Author Archives: Anton

movies rented this week

Wages of Fear (Le Salaire de la Peur) (1952). Set in a declining oil-boom town somewhere in South America, full of unemployed foreigners who can’t afford to leave. The oil company hires four of the becalmed drifters to drive two … Continue reading

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crimes against astronomy

The Campaign for Dark Skies collects evidence that brighter lights do not deter crime. (Cited by Bruce Schneier; link updated 2006.)

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superhero comics and the nature of myth

Crisis on Infantile Earths – or – If it’s Tuesday, it must be Ragnarok! — a long and rambling essay by John Holbo

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where do you see yourself in ten years?

Have I mentioned lately that I hate applying for jobs? They ask you to send a résumé. Then once they have it, they call you back and ask, “So what kind of position are you looking for?” because somehow their … Continue reading

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swashing the buckler

The Master of Ballantrae (1953) is a swashbuckler done right; from a book by R L Stevenson. Technicolor, of course, though not as luminous as in Scaramouche. Fifteen years after Robin Hood, Errol Flynn is my age, which gives me … Continue reading

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no guru, no method, no logo

The Fly Bottle: Crest, Colgate, Autonomy, Alienation, Not Voting, Etc. The traditional Marxish theory of consumer culture is that the dark arts of marketing and advertising germinate within us ‘false’ desires. A false desire is one whose satisfaction serves not … Continue reading

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Great Hackers

quoth Paul Graham: But VCs are mistaken to look for the next Microsoft, because no startup can be the next Microsoft unless some other company is prepared to bend over at just the right moment and be the next IBM. … Continue reading

Posted in economics, neep-neep, psychology | Leave a comment